Love, sometimes, is not enough.

Rainbow bridge gained two more Crossroads' canine friends in the past couple days. This time it was not due to illness or old age, but human aggression. Brett Titus of the Denver Police Department, says it quite well,  "The dog is one of the most amazing creatures in the world. The unconditional love and companionship of dogs is unmatched by any comparison. Like anything managed by Mother Nature, they do come with faults. One of the greatest faults is the unwarranted aggression towards humans. Often times we attribute this to abuse, especially when it is an adopted dog. But that is not always the case." 

In these two cases, it was simply not explainable. Colby Jack was bought as a puppy, fed good food, neutered, maintained his vaccinations and wellness visits, and even worked with a trainer for some time - beautiful home and wonderful family. Big Boy Max was adopted from Crossroads as a puppy at 9 weeks, went through puppy kindergarten, evaluated by another trainer, extremely well socialized, regular at doggie day care, fed good food, perfectly healthy - neutered, vaccinations and preventatives all current. Again, beautiful home and wonderful family he lived with.

So what changed? What happened? For Colby Jack, maybe it was all the changes of his mom moving, getting married and having a baby, or maybe it was a medical issue we could not find.  Something over his almost six years of life had him terrified of loud noises, any sudden movements, or of even being petted. He resource guarded (vehemently protected) absolutely everything indoors - the person he was sitting with, his bed, the room he was in, and his kennel. Colby just wanted to be left alone. I could walk him for short distances, but if a loud truck went by, he would drag me back to the front door. As soon as we were inside, he would growl, show his teeth and nip at me.  Two weeks of constantly, patiently working with him and the only time he would respond appropriately was if I had cheese. It broke my heart when he would give me a glimpse of normalcy by offering a play bow, or briefly run with the other dogs. Sadly, Colby had a history of many nips and bites, including at least a few that drew blood.  His original family had worked with a trainer and sought advice and meds from their vet, yet Colby lived in fear and anger.  This is no way for this boy to live.  After many discussions with our vet tech, Colby's former trainer, vet behaviorist, and our own vet, the decision was made to let him rest in peace. We tried everything for this poor boy. Dog speed and white light,  Colby Jack. We love you.

Then there was this little guy that I called Mr. Ornery from the day I sat by and supported his Momma Violet while she delivered him. He quickly became a family favorite, as he scooted away from mom and cried. Mr. Ornery grew to be the biggest pup, so he was then called Big Boy. With his unique tri-color markings, he was incredibly handsome to look at as well. 

Big Boy was adopted by an amazing family and named "Max". Not only did he get a great family, but CDR gained incredible supporters. Not only did they contribute financially, but eventually became one of our amazing foster homes. In fact, if you follow us frequently, you will know that Trish frequently took our single pups until they found homes, until she got very brave and asked if she could open her home to a mother dog and babies.  Yes, Max's family is the one that took in Millie and the Miracles back in May. Trish spent countless hours and sleepless nights caring for Millie and her 11 sick babies.  We all know that even though we tragically lost Millie and all her babies to illness, her hard work did not go unnoticed - it was the BEST six weeks Millie had ever known in her life and her puppies on had the best of care.

Just 4 short days after we lost Millie and the Miracles, she found a baby deer on the side of her house covered in ticks.  Big Boy Max knew by smell that something was on the other side of the fence. As neighbors came over to help clean up the deer, Max was very excited and barking. Trish's son was asked to let Max in the house. It was late in the evening and the house was dark. Little did her son know that the neighbor girl was standing in a dark corner by the front door. In an unfortunate, freak situation, Max thought there was an intruder and bit the young lady. Max was immediately kenneled and the young lady rushed to receive care.  Suddenly an amazing family dog is deemed vicious. While I do not make light of the situation at all, had this truly been an intruder, Max would be a hero.

After a 10 day rabies hold and further discussion with animal control and the courts, it was determined that Max could not stay in his home.  Trish and family fought for their dog by gathering reports from doggie day care, trainer and even seeking an expensive evaluation with a vet behaviorist. The liability and risk that he would bite again was still too high. This amazingly gorgeous boy that was so incredibly loved by his family went to rainbow bridge this past week.

If there is a lesson here, it is even when you seem to do everything right, love, sometimes is not enough.